Butcher stands outside shop wearing billboard saying "I was late for work"
after repeatedly turning up late

A butcher who was late for work stood outside the shop wearing a billboard saying "I was late for work" to show he was sorry but the prank backfired when members of the public thought his employers had made him do it.

When new employee, Lewis Jeffries, arrived for his second day of work two hours late he decided to apologise by creating a sign reading “I was late for work again today. Honk if you think this is bad” and went to stand on a chair outside the shop in Bolton.

"When I was late I said I’d do something to make up for it, so I went and wrote the sign and went to stand outside."

Lewis Jeffries

Many motorists honked at him, but some people took photos of him and posted them online and criticised the company Barrons of Beef on Facebook after believing they had made him do it.

Barrons' Facebook page was flooded with people damning the butcher’s actions and saying they were going to report them to the authorities.

One commented: “I think not only is it unprofessional to me it seems like there is at the very least some peer pressure going on towards the lad.”

“When I was late I said I’d do something to make up for it, so I went and wrote the sign and went to stand outside,” Lewis, 16, explained.

“There were loads of people smiling and beeping and having a chat with me.

The owner is confident Lewis will be on time from now on

“I went through school and didn’t get the best results. I had four jobs before this working in a warehousing, plumbing and in offices, but they were temporary. Phil has given me a chance to work here and I want to make a career out of it.”

Owner Phil Barron said he is confident Lewis will be on time from now on.

“He’s technically on a trial period. I could have told him we didn’t want to keep him on, but he’s a genuinely nice lad," he said.

“After he’d been on the chair he came in and said ‘I won’t be late again’.

“People were coming in the shop having a laugh about it and he must have been honked at 100 times.

“Just one lady drove past and then turned around. She was shouting at him that he shouldn’t put up with this and should find a new job.

“It was his decision to put the sign on and he carried the chair outside as well. He was stood on it for 15 minutes laughing.”